We decide to kick off our stay in Tuscany with a day in Arezzo, but first a quick trip into Lucignano, our local town, to check out the market. We are force fed handfuls of ripe cherries, slices of sweet melon, slivers of nutty mushrooms and juicy plum tomatoes by the veg stallholder. Then the local fishmonger brings us a plate of fresh calamari to try, which the vegetable seller squeezes a fresh lemon over. All of a sudden we don’t need lunch anymore! This most immediate form of marketing works well as we spend €22 on fruit and veg and return the next night for takeaway calamari and chips, although the veg man also throws in a bunch more freebies (lemon, parsley, garlic) so I’m not sure how much profit he made!
On to Arezzo to kick off our Tuscan sight-seeing marathon. First stop, the Basilica Di San Francesco, where the walls are covered with amazing Renaissance frescoes. So far, so Tuscan. But what is incredible here is that at some point the frescoes were hidden behind a Baroque interior and were only rediscovered when the furnishings were removed in the early 20th Century. Fifteen years of restoration work followed and the results are well worth a visit.
Our next port of call is the church of Santa Maria della Pieve with its jewel encrusted silver bust of St Donatus, the patron saint of Arezzo. It seems incredible that this should just be sitting in the crypt of a church, rather than being in a museum under tight security, but this seems commonplace across Tuscany (and perhaps is widespread across Italy?), that each area has its own precious object or valuable relic contained within the church.
As part of our ticket into the Basilica we also get entry to Giorgio Vasari’s House, which we had already passed on our journey into the centre of Arezzo. It’s also worth a visit to see how a Renaissance family lived and to view the stunning decoration in each of the rooms. Vasari himself clearly played an important role in this area; his name pops up time and again at each of the places we visit.
Arezzo is an interesting town to spend a day if you have plenty of time in this area, but, overall, we felt like it lacked the tranquillity of say, Assisi or Orvieto, and didn’t quite measure up to the architectural jewels of Sienna or Florence.
Before tackling either of those behemoths though, we took a spin into the Tuscan hills to the heart of Chianti country for an altogether more chilled out experience courtesy of Castello di Brolio. We arrive in time for an early lunch at the Castello’s fabulous restaurant accompanied by the famous Chianti. I must admit that the wine is not my cup of tea, but it seems fitting to sample it here in its heartland. Ben’s gingerbread semifreddo desert is the winning dish and we could sit here all day in the shade of the trees and stunning scenery. But no! We have the Castello to explore. Just when we thought we had taken the day off from religious iconography, it turns out the highlight of the castle is it’s chapel – a word which conjures up a far more humble image than the reality of gilded ceilings and stained glass windows in this place. Ben also spots some modern art by way of weird stainless steel “fallen over tulip” sculptures which are as intriguing as they are inexplicable but make for some good photographic opportunities.
When we return to the villa, our hosts have a party in full swing for the 40th birthday of the daughter of the family, which we have been invited to. It’s great to meet some locals, including an American who followed her Italian husband out here – both of whom speak perfect English. We grill them all for tips on visiting Siena and Florence, and sample wild boar stew (three days in the cooking and absolutely delicious), as well as homemade marmalade tart and lashings of red wine and port! Staying in AirBnB’s really does make travelling more interesting!